BULGARIA PAID OFF THE DEBT TO RUSSIA FOR THE CANCELLED BELENE NUCLEAR PROJECT

Bulgaria’s state owned National Electricity Company had paid the debt at the amount of 601.6 billion BGN to Atomstroyexport, subsidiary of Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom, Bulgaria’s outgoing Minister of Energy Temenuzhka Petkova said on 9th of December. The debt was owed over the cancelled Belene nuclear project.

The money was transferred on 8th of December into the accounts of Atomstroyexport, in compliance with the ruling of the International Arbitration Court.

Minister Petkova noted that the funds from the state budget for settling the debt over Belene nuclear project were allocated on the basis of the law on provision of financial assistance to NEC, adopted by the Bulgarian Parliament.

In October Bulgaria and Russia reached an agreement for the payment of the full amount of the debt to Atomstroyexport by 25th of December 2016. The Russian company also agreed to drop a percentage of the debt, to the amount of 23.8 million Euros if the debt was paid off in full.

In June 2016, the court of arbitration ruled that NEC should pay compensation to Russia's Atomstroyexport for the cancelled Belene nuclear power project.